CLINTON TOWN – A Hunterdon County neighborhood was on edge Friday afternoon after a bear came out of the woods for a stroll around the block.

Police and the state Division of Fish and Wildlife initially were called to Leigh Street on a report of a bear trying to break into a home.

But officials said the 443-pound male was not interested in breaking and entering. It simply was digging around a home's foundation looking for food. It also was spotted under a deck.

The bear was tranquilized and released into a nearby wildlife area, state officials said.

Black bear sighting are fairly common in Hunterdon County. Most of the state's black bears live in the northwestern portion of the state bounded by interstates 78 and 287. But the bear population in the state has been thriving since the 1980s, and bear sightings have been confirmed in all 21 counties, including in densely populated areas such as Woodbridge.

Bears tend to avoid people but often are attracted by garbage cans or bins in residential neighborhoods. The state Division of Fish and Wildlife encourages homeowners in areas with lots of bear sightings to use bear-proof trash cans or bins that seal properly.

Bear sightings or nuisance behavior should be reported to the Department of Environmental Protection's hotline at 877-927-6337.